Just a Little Lovin' review

Shelby Lynne broke off with country long time ago

Despite that fact that for the 20 years of musical career Shelby Lynne was changing her image and style more than just once her name for some reason is still associated with country. Yes, once upon a time, at the dawn of her career she did work in this genre but the real fame came to her only after she has revalued her favors. None of Lynne's five early records managed to give her that kind of a push that she received from her album of 2000 I'm Shelby Lynne. It brought her everything at once – recognition of the critics, Grammy and tones of new fans. But unfortunately Lynne failed to use this chance and somehow contrived to scare her newly born fans away with her next pop record Love, Shelby. Eventually she found herself thrown backwards and had to run the same fan-gathering circle again. But this time she was more prudent. Her following albums of 2003 and 2005 solidified Shelby Lynne's image of a serious and unbelievably talented blues/soul performer for a long time but still they failed to bring her mass popularity.

Risky choice

Shelby Lynne's new album Just A Little Lovin' consists of cover versions. This step may seem strange but on the other hand it is quite possible to understand her. Lynne's recent album Suit Yourself is a strong record indeed but despite the loud applauses of critics it didn't give her a commercial success. What else she could do? An album of covers really looks like a lifeboat in this case. However, Just A Little Lovin' stands really far from a concept of a commercial record. Lynne borrowed the material for this album from the catalogue of a Queen of white soul Dusty Springfield, whose songs once inspired her to write I'm Shelby Lynne. This is a risky choice but the game is worth the candle. The album includes four tracks from Springfield's legendary Dusty In Memphis, five hits from her early records and one song penned by Lynne herself. She made a pretty smart move when she decided not to include Son Of A Preacher Man in the list. Absence of the Springfield's most re-played song speaks that Lynne understands her much deeper than any commercially oriented record would ever need.

Just A Little Lovin': one of the best tributes to Dusty Springfield

Lynne is not trying to copy Springfield – it would be simply ridiculous – she is trying to be herself. After all, Lynne is a mature vocalist and she undoubtedly has her own views upon things. The songs under her interpretation gained a warmer and probably more intimate air. The arrangements look almost minimalistic – acoustic guitar, bass, drums and piano from time to time. You may take a look at Breakfast In Bed. Everything sounds very light and soft but deep and velvet at the same time. It is possible to say that Lynne has striped these songs but still managed to hold the essence of their charm. The simplicity of arrangements gives a sort of extra space for vocals and Lynne uses the most of it. Elasticity and softness of her vocal manner is able to open some new sides of sensuality of these songs. Lynne is not trying to outdo Springfield at all; she is just trying to approach the material in a little bit different way. And she succeeds in doing so indeed. Track Pretend proves her competence in the best possible way. It is the only song on this album composed by Lynne. This simple, acoustic, half-bluesy ballad matches Springfield's material simply perfectly and speaks that Lynne understands her art really deep one more time.